Achievement standards

For the physical systems studied, the student:

• analyses physical phenomena in complex scenarios at a range of scales qualitatively and quantitatively
• analyses the relationships between mass, energy and properties of physical systems qualitatively and quantitatively
• explains the theories and model/s used to explain the system, the supporting evidence, and their limitations and assumptions
• applies theories and models of systems and processes to explain phenomena, critically analyse complex problems, and make reasoned, plausible predictions in unfamiliar contexts

For the physical science contexts studied, the student:

• analyses the roles of collaboration, debate and review, and technologies, in the development of physical science theories and models
• evaluates how physical science has been used in concert with other sciences to meet diverse needs and to inform decision making; and how these applications are influenced by interacting social, economic and ethical factors

For the physical systems studied, the student:

• explains physical phenomena at a range of scales qualitatively and quantitatively
• explains the relationships between mass, energy and properties of physical systems qualitatively and quantitatively
• describes the theories and model/s used to explain the system, some supporting evidence, and their limitations
• applies theories and models of systems and processes to explain phenomena, analyse problems, and make plausible predictions in unfamiliar contexts

For the physical science contexts studied, the student:

• explains the roles of collaboration, debate and review, and technologies, in the development of physical science theories and models
• explains how physical science has been used to meet diverse needs and to inform decision making; and how these applications are influenced by social, economic and ethical factors

For the physical systems studied, the student:

• explains physical phenomena qualitatively and quantitatively
• explains the relationships between mass, energy and properties of physical systems qualitatively
• describes key aspects of a theory or model used to explain system processes, and the phenomena to which they can be applied
• applies theories or models of systems and processes to explain phenomena, interpret problems, and make plausible predictions in some unfamiliar contexts

For the physical science contexts studied, the student:

• describes the roles of collaboration and review, and technologies, in the development of physical science theories or models
• discusses how physical science has been used to meet needs and to inform decision making, and some social, economic or ethical implications of these applications

For the physical systems studied, the student:

• describes physical phenomena qualitatively
• describes how components and properties of physical systems are related
• describes key aspects of a theory or model used to explain a system process
• describes phenomena, interprets simple problems, and makes predictions in familiar contexts

For the physical science contexts studied, the student:

• describes the roles of communication and new evidence in developing physical science knowledge
• describes ways in which physical science has been used in society to meet needs, and identifies some implications of these applications

For the physical systems studied, the student:

• describes properties of physical phenomena
• describes components of physical systems
• identifies aspects of a theory or model related to a system process
• describes phenomena and makes simple predictions in familiar contexts

For the physical science contexts studied, the student:

• identifies that physical science knowledge has changed over time
• identifies ways in which physical science has been used in society to meet needs

For the physical science contexts studied, the student:

• designs, conducts and improves safe, ethical investigations that efficiently collect valid, reliable data in response to a complex question or problem
• analyses data sets to explain causal and correlational relationships, the reliability of the data, and sources of error
• justifies their selection of data as evidence, analyses evidence with reference to models and/or theories, and develops evidence-based conclusions that identify limitations
• evaluates processes and claims, and provides an evidence-based critique and discussion of improvements or alternatives
• selects, constructs and uses appropriate representations to describe complex relationships and solve complex and unfamiliar problems
• communicates effectively and accurately in a range of modes, styles and genres for specific audiences and purposes

For the physical science contexts studied, the student:

• designs, conducts and improves safe, ethical investigations that collect valid, reliable data in response to a question or problem
• analyses data sets to identify causal and correlational relationships, anomalies, and sources of error
• selects appropriate data as evidence, interprets evidence with reference to models and/or theories, and provides evidence for conclusions
• evaluates processes and claims, provides a critique with reference to evidence, and identifies possible improvements or alternatives
• selects, constructs and uses appropriate representations to describe complex relationships and solve unfamiliar problems
• communicates clearly and accurately in a range of modes, styles and genres for specific audiences and purposes

For the physical science contexts studied, the student:

• designs and conducts safe, ethical investigations that collect valid data in response to a question or problem
• analyses data to identify relationships, anomalies, and sources of error
• selects data to demonstrate relationships linked to physical science knowledge, and provides conclusions based on data
• evaluates processes and claims, and suggests improvements or alternatives
• selects, constructs and uses appropriate representations to describe relationships and solve problems
• communicates clearly in a range of modes, styles and genres for specific purposes

For the physical science contexts studied, the student:

• plans and conducts safe, ethical investigations to collect data in response to a question or problem
• analyses data to identify trends and anomalies
• selects data to demonstrate trends, and presents simple conclusions based on data
• considers processes and claims from a personal perspective
• constructs and uses simple representations to describe relationships and solve simple problems
• communicates in a range of modes and genres

For the physical science contexts studied, the student:

• follows a procedure to conduct safe, ethical investigations to collect data
• identifies trends in data
• selects data to demonstrate trends
• considers claims from a personal perspective
• constructs and uses simple representations to describe phenomena
• communicates in a range of modes